Dan - yellow mask (No reserve price)

Circular African mask, convex, it is divided into two vegetal colors, one based on red bark, the other on white, crusty kaolin. The broad incised bands on its surface could evoke the clan's traditional scarifications. The Tetela and Yela groups are of Mongo origin and are neighboring communities. Tetela sculpture takes on varied forms, borrowed from the clans they mingle with, including Songye-inspired works in polychrome. Several ethnies divided into lineages live closely intertwined in the center of Zaire: the Mbole, the Yela, the Lengola, and the Metoko, and are endowed with similar associations. This proximity generated certain stylistic borrowings. Their artistic production indeed shows great analogies with that of the Metoko and the Lengola. Their divination masks were exhibited during the closing ceremonies of initiation and circumcision of the youths of the divination society nkunda, during which their masks “nsembu” or “ibola” appeared in pairs, male/female. These associations, including the lilwa of the Yela and the Mbole, also judged those guilty of theft, adultery, and murder. The judge, a high dignitary named isoya, also presided over ritual feasts marking the close of initiations.